Lady Bird Johnson: A Reflection Piece on Lady Bird Johnson and the Imprint She Left on us All.

Written by: Heather McClelland, Executive Director of the Syracuse Parks Conservancy

I stumbled upon Claudia Alta Taylor, also known as Lady Bird Johnson, while I was looking for a quote for one of our monthly newsletters. For some reason she stood out to me, and I wanted to learn more about her and what she did. Now of course, she was known for beautifying the country in the 60’s, and that spanned into the 70’s and 80’s and her organization, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, continues to work on that same mission still today. What a legacy to have…to be known for dedicating your life to beautifying the country. Quite amazing work.

When I started dabbling in the research about this woman, I was fascinated because this is exactly what the Syracuse Parks Conservancy (SPC) is all about, beautifying our parks. Naturally, I had to learn more about who Lady Bird Johnson was and how this passion of hers came to develop.

Lady Bird Johnson was given the nickname “Lady Bird” as a child, which stuck with her for the remainder of her life. She grew up in a wealthy family in Texas, and as a child she spent time outdoors exploring nature.

She married Lyndon B. Johnson, who would eventually become President of the United States in 1963, and they had two daughters together. She was a woman who was very particular with her words and spoke with great elegance and intention. She had a talent for reading a room and was known to often give her husband some direction in this area. It seemed as if nature was a centerpoint not just for Lady Bird but their whole family. The LBJ Ranch in Texas was the heart of the family and was often used for meetings and a place for the Johnsons to show off the beauty and magic of Texas. When I read about this, I think of how amazing it is to have the outdoors be the backdrop for business-like meetings rather than an enclosed office. I sit here and write at a cafe on a rainy day and think about our own small-business owners and politicians using the parks that are sprinkled throughout Syracuse as their backdrop for inspiration, brainstorming, and planning for the future. No matter if they’re conscious of that inspiration or not I like to believe that it has some kind of impact.

As I deepened my research about Lady Bird Johnson's time as a First Lady, I watched many interviews and how she began her tremendous work in the conservation world. In an interview with Michael Gillette in 1984, she was asked why she chose to beautify our country. She said very simply that it brought her joy and “made her heart sing.” It’s a lesson I think we can all learn from, to do more of what makes our own heart sing. In interviews, both Lady Bird and her daughters said that she searched long and hard for a word to replace “beautify” because to her that felt very surface level, and what she envisioned was much more than making outdoor spaces more beautiful. It was about giving the younger generations of America the experience of nature and the opportunity to have a great love and appreciation for it. Planting more trees and flowers, cleaning up rivers, and preserving nature was also about providing a safer, cleaner environment for the American people, all while giving them hope.

I could list all of the amazing things that Lady Bird Johnson has done for our country and the domino effect she's had on the conservation practices we have today, but when we zoom out and look at the heart of it, it's simple. She recognized the impact that the natural beauty of our environment and living things had on her own life and simply wanted everyone to have the opportunity to experience this even if it was on the smallest level. She saw the death and life that nature expresses, the hardiness and determination, the softness and delicateness of the plants and animals that we share our world with and maybe knew how much we as people need this. I know for myself Lady Bird Johnson has become an inspiration and reminder of the importance of preserving our outdoor spaces, not just for myself but for us as neighbors and friends.